The Great Outdoors

Well, it’s definitely been an adjustment moving to Tennessee from Boston.  At the moment we are staying at a family house in the country while we look for a house to buy (an adventure unto itself).  While we are incredibly grateful for this opportunity, it means that walking April is a bit trickier.  See there’s not much of a road for our house (although there are horses to visit), so we have to drive about 15 minutes to find a decent path to give her a long walk.  However, five minutes down the road is a beautiful natural area.  The hike is pretty intense.  It’s 0.8 miles up to the overlook, and you gain 1000 feet in elevation.  The trail is pretty steep at points and then incredibly rocky.  April does pretty well at it for a short legged doggy!

My first two attempts at the hike, the bugs bothered me too much.  Two weeks ago, April and I made it to the top (thanks to Off bug spray).  Our trip up took about 1 hour and then 45 minutes on the way down.  It was definitely warmer that day.  Today, with the wonderful fall weather, Matt and I took April up to the top in 45 minutes!!  And we remembered a camera!

I feel like there should be a Lion King reference here.  “Everything the light touches is yours!”

Matt and April at the overlook!  It’s 2100 feet above sea level.

HAPPY TIRED PUPPY!!

On the way back down, there were lots of people on the trail.  April decided to jump up on a rock to get out of the way.

I feel as if she’s looking down at her subjects in this picture.

The hike is really challenging, but it tuckers the puppy out!  I wish that I had more time on weekdays to take her up there more often.  Maybe we’d even condition ourselves to get faster.  It’s seriously like nature’s stairmaster at some points.

What did you do on your Sunday?